A. No child day center, family day home, or family day system licensed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, child day center exempt from licensure pursuant to § 63.2-1716, registered family day home, family day home approved by a family day system, or child day center, family day home, or child day program that enters into a contract with the Department or a local department to provide child care services funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant shall hire for compensated employment, continue to employ, or permit to serve as a volunteer who will be alone with, in control of, or supervising children any person who (i) has been convicted of any barrier crime as defined in § 19.2-392.02 or (ii) is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside the Commonwealth. All applicants for employment, employees, applicants to serve as volunteers, and volunteers shall undergo a background check in accordance with subsection B prior to employment or beginning to serve as a volunteer and every five years thereafter.

B. (Effective until July 1, 2020) Any individual required to undergo a background check in accordance with subsection A shall:

1. Provide a sworn statement or affirmation disclosing whether he has ever been convicted of or is the subject of pending charges for any offense within or outside the Commonwealth and whether he has been the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside the Commonwealth;

2. Submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information described in subdivision B 2 of § 19.2-392.02; and

3. Authorize the child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A to obtain a copy of the results of a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to § 63.2-1515 and any child abuse and neglect registry or equivalent registry maintained by any other state in which the individual has resided in the preceding five years for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect against him.

The individual's fingerprints and personal descriptive information obtained pursuant to subdivision 2 shall be forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining national criminal history record information regarding such individual. Upon receipt of the individual's record or notification that no record exists, the Central Criminal Records Exchange shall forward the information to the Department, and the Department shall report to the child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A as to whether the individual is eligible to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children. In cases in which the record forwarded to the Department is lacking disposition data, the Department shall conduct research in whatever state and local recordkeeping systems are available in order to obtain complete data before reporting to the child day center, family day home, or family day system.

B. (Effective July 1, 2020) Any individual required to undergo a background check in accordance with subsection A shall:

1. Provide a sworn statement or affirmation disclosing whether he has ever been convicted of or is the subject of pending charges for any offense within or outside the Commonwealth and whether he has been the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside the Commonwealth;

2. Submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information described in subdivision B 2 of § 19.2-392.02; and

3. Authorize the child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A to obtain a copy of the results of a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to § 63.2-1515 and any child abuse and neglect registry or equivalent registry maintained by any other state in which the individual has resided in the preceding five years for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect against him.

The individual's fingerprints and personal descriptive information obtained pursuant to subdivision 2 shall be forwarded by the Department or its designee or, in the case of a child day program operated by a local government, may be forwarded by the local law-enforcement agency through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining national criminal history record information regarding such individual. Upon receipt of the individual's record or notification that no record exists, the Central Criminal Records Exchange shall forward the information to the Department, and the Department shall report to the child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A as to whether the individual is eligible to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children. In cases in which the record forwarded to the Department is lacking disposition data, the Department shall conduct research in whatever state and local recordkeeping systems are available in order to obtain complete data before reporting to the child day center, family day home, or family day system.

C. The child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A shall inform every individual required to undergo a background check pursuant to this section that he is entitled to obtain a copy of any background check report and to challenge the accuracy and completeness of any such report and obtain a prompt resolution before a final determination is made of the individual's eligibility to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children.

D. Any person making a materially false statement regarding the sworn statement or affirmation provided pursuant to subdivision B 1 is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

E. Further dissemination of the background check information is prohibited other than to the Commissioner's representative or a federal or state authority or court as may be required to comply with an express requirement of law for such further dissemination.

F. A person who complies in good faith with the provisions of this section shall not be liable for any civil damages for any act or omission in the performance of duties under this section unless the act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

G. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, a child day center may hire for compensated employment persons who have been convicted of not more than one misdemeanor offense under § 18.2-57, or any substantially similar offense under the laws of another jurisdiction, if 10 years have elapsed following the conviction, unless the person committed such offense while employed in a child day center or the object of the offense was a minor.

H. (Effective until July 1, 2020) Fees charged for the processing and administration of background checks pursuant to this section shall not exceed the actual cost to the state of such processing and administration.

H. (Effective July 1, 2020) Fees charged for the processing and administration of background checks pursuant to this section shall not exceed the actual cost to the state or the local law-enforcement agency of such processing and administration.

I. Any individual required to undergo a background check pursuant to subsection A who is (i) convicted of any barrier crime as defined in § 19.2-392.02 or (ii) found to be the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect within or outside of the Commonwealth shall notify the child day center, family day home, or family day system described in subsection A of such conviction or finding.

2015, cc. 758, 770; 2016, c. 632; 2017, cc. 189, 751, 809; 2019, c. 447.